This week in The Times: Santa Claus

Vitals: As part of an ongoing holiday tradition, The Rock River Times once again sat down with Santa Claus and presented him with questions from children from the Rock River Valley. Though we could not use every question submitted, the staff of The Rock River TImes would like to thank all the boys and girls who contributed their questions for “Old Saint Nick.”

1. From Jack, age 9, of Rockford: Where do your reindeer sleep? My eight tiny reindeer, and Rudolph, of course, sleep in a state-of-the-art facility every night. I make sure that they are happy, especially before the big night. They order room service every night and get carrots for dinner and peppermints for dessert. Bedtime is at 9 because they need their rest!

2. From Allison, age 6, of Rockford: Do your elves live with you and Mrs. Claus all year at the North Pole? My elves actually live with me for only 10 months of the year. They get the first two months after Christmas off to celebrate a job well done and another successful Christmas. Most of them go to the South Pole, but this year, one of my good friends, Collin the Elf, is going to the Bahamas. He is going to look so silly in his jingle bell swimsuit!

3. From Jake, age 5, of Byron: How do you deliver all the presents in one night? Motivation. When people share in the holiday spirit and anticipate me coming, it only drives me more to speed up. Another thing is that the reindeer are trained to go their fastest, and this year we are planning to make it in record time.

4. From Alex, age 6, of Rockford: How many people leave cookies and milk for you each Christmas Eve? I would say 95 percent leave cookies and milk every Christmas. I always look forward to seeing all of the different types of cookies, and I don’t think I could ever have enough cookies or milk. My favorite is the sugar cookie…in case you were wondering. Don’t forget carrots for the reindeer!

5. From Darby, age 7, of Stillman Valley: How do you decide whether all the boys and girls have been naughty or nice for the past year? Well, you know the song: “He sees when you’re sleeping / He knows when you’re awake / He knows if you’ve been bad or good / So be good for goodness sake.” In reality, though, I have an alarm that goes off when a child has been moved to the naughty list. If you get a third strike, you’re automatically moved to the naughty list for a year, but I always give second chances to make it up because I want everyone to have a merry Christmas!

“This week in The Times” is a weekly survey of people selected by The Rock River Times staff. The column does not accept unsolicited submissions.